Arsenal turn down £27 million bid from Barcelona for Cesc Fabregas

Barcelona have launched their first substantive move of the summer for Cesc Fabregas by directly contacting Arsenal with a bid of €30 million (£27 million).

Will he, won't he: Arsenal face another summer of uncertainty over the future of Cesc Fabregas Photo: AFP

Arsenal immediately turned down the suggested price, which was tabled informally this week, but are now braced for another testing summer that is likely to be dominated by their captain's future.

The opening offer for Fabregas last summer was €35 million and also flatly rejected, with Arsenal somewhat bemused that Barcelona now seem to be placing an even lower valuation on their former trainee.

However, further bids and a repeat of last year's very public pursuit of Fabregas can now be expected.

Arsenal have privately placed a valuation on Fabregas at beyond £44 million, meaning there is currently a gap of around £17 million in their respective positions.

Barcelona president Sandro Rosell surprised Arsenal last week by publicly stating that he would not offer more than £35.5 million and has said that Fabregas's value is decreasing as his contract runs down.--Telegraph

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